Original audio exercise
Hear the Change: A 12-Second A/B Listening Exercise
Try a small listening problem with a checkable answer. You do not need an instrument, an account or a recording of your own. Listen for the position of a change, without worrying about note names.
Listen once before reading the answer
First come four clicks. Then you hear a four-note phrase, a second phrase with one changed note, a bar of clicks without melody, and the two phrases again. Use a comfortable volume: the clicks are sharper than the notes.
Download practice WAV (563 KB)
Which note changes in the second phrase: the first, second, third or fourth? Count “one, two, three, four” with each phrase and decide before opening the answer.
Choose a loop for a specific question
These links load the sample in the main player with exact A/B points. Loading is silent; press Play when you are ready. You can still move either point and change the speed.
| Source time | Listening task | Open in player |
|---|---|---|
| 0–12 s | Hear the whole sequence | Open full sample in player |
| 2–4 s | Learn the first four-note phrase | Load first phrase · 2–4 s |
| 2–6 s | Compare both phrases without the count-in | Load comparison · 2–6 s |
| 4–8 s | Hear the second phrase, then recall it over clicks | Load recall · 4–8 s |
The timestamps refer to the original recording. A four-second section takes about 5.33 seconds to play at 0.75x, but its A/B values remain 2.0 and 6.0. Changing speed does not require you to recalculate the points.
Run the comparison
- Open the 2–6 second comparison at 1x. Count four beats per phrase. First decide only whether the phrases sound identical.
- On the next pass, track the third beat. Try 0.75x if the change goes by too quickly. The clicks also slow down.
- Pause and hum both phrases. Decide whether the changed note goes higher or lower. You do not need to read music.
- Return to 1x and listen without looking at the answer. Write down the part you still need to repeat.
Answer and exact note positions
The third note goes higher. The first phrase is C4, D4, E4, G4; the second is C4, D4, F4, G4. E4 begins at 3.0 seconds and F4 at 5.0 seconds. The difference is one semitone. The other three notes and their timing stay the same.
The first two notes start at 2.0 and 2.5 seconds, then at 4.0 and 4.5 in the second phrase. Both phrases end on G4, at 3.5 and 5.5 seconds. Comparing whole phrases keeps the change in context.
Recall during the gap
The 4–8 second preset plays the second phrase and leaves a bar with only the metronome. Hum or tap what you remember during that bar. When the loop restarts, the same phrase returns for you to check your timing. If you lose count, use 2–4 seconds and practice a single phrase first.
When a boundary sounds wrong
Starting at 3.05 seconds cuts into the third note. Starting at 2.0 keeps all four notes and their beat positions. With spoken audio, use the same principle: allow a little lead-in before a consonant and keep the final sound of a word inside the loop.
If there is no sound, check your device volume and press Play. This sample is a WAV file; selecting your own MP3 replaces it. The exercise does not record your voice or upload a selected local file.
Transfer the question to speech
This melody is an exercise in hearing a change and choosing loop boundaries. With speech, ask a concrete question such as “was it seven or seven thirty?” Continue with the listening example, shadowing sentence or dictation checklist.
About the recording
Created for AB Repeat Player from synthesized tones at 120 BPM. No commercial music, voice recordings or third-party audio samples were used. The waveform comes from this actual audio. You may download the sample for personal practice or classroom exercises with attribution to AB Repeat Player.